Finite Element Analysis of Three-Dimensional Transient Heat Transfer in GMA Welding The data generated in this study can be used to determine the heating and cooling rate, weld pool shape and HAZ

The thermal history of a weld joint produced by the gas metal arc (GMA) welding process is analyzed by using a three-dimensional finite element model. The problem consists of one in which the finite element mesh is growing continuously in time in order to accommodate metal transfer in CMA welding. The procedure of how to incorporate the growth of the mesh in the analysis has been described. The finite element program ABAQUS, along with a few user subroutines, was employed to obtain the numerical results. Temperature-dependent thermal properties, effect of latent heat, and the convective and radiative boundary conditions are included in the model. Numerically predicted sizes of the heat-affected zone and the melt-pool zone are compared with the experimentally observed val-